Florian Schneider, German Electronic Music Pioneer With Kraftwerk, Dies at 73

Florian Schneider, a keyboardist and co-founder of the German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, has died after a short battle with cancer, a representative for the band told TheWrap. He was 73.

“Kraftwerk co-founder and electro pioneer Ralf Hütter has sent us the very sad news that his friend and companion over many decades. Florian Schneider has passed away from a short cancer disease just a few days after his 73rd birthday,” the band said in a statement.

Schneider and Hütter formed up in 1968 at the Academy of Arts in Remscheid, where they performed improvisational music together before founding Kraftwerk in 1970. Together their avant-garde, Kraut rock sounds, especially their seminal 1974 album “Autobahn,” helped shape the sounds of synth pop and rock groups in the ’80s and beyond.

NEW YORK – CIRCA 1975: German electronic group Kraftwerk (L-R Karl Bartos, Ralph Hutter, Wolfgang Flur and Florian Schneider in front) pose for a portrait circa 1975 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Maurice Seymour/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Schneider was a multi-instrumentalist who originally used the flute as his main instrument, distorting it with fuzz, wah and other effects before moving on to synthesizers, loud speakers other experimental tools. On “Autobahn,” Kraftwerk was able to create looping, immersive soundscapes of songs, even songs like the title track “Autobahn” that could take the shape of an entire side of an album. The album and an edited version of the song was a hit internationally, and the group even won a special lifetime achievement Grammy in 2014 for their work.

In 1970, Hütter and Schneider founded the electronic Kling Klang Studio in Düsseldorf where all of Kraftwerk’s albums were conceived up through 2003’s “Tour de France.” Schneider formally left the band in 2008 and did not perform on the band’s tour that year.

David Bowie especially was an admirer of Schneider and Kraftwerk’s music. Kraftwerk’s 1977 album “Trans-Europe Express” was inspired by Bowie’s “Station to Station,” and then Bowie named his song off “Heroes” “V2-Schneider” after the Kraftwerk pioneer. Other followers of Kraftwerk have included bands such as Talking Heads, Stereolab, Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, Devo and many more.

Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2020 (Photos)

David Stern

The former longtime commissioner of the NBA died Jan. 1 following a brain hemorrhage, according to a statement from current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. He was 77.

Andrew Burkle

Andrew Burkle, an aspiring film producer and the son of billionaire Ron Burkle, died Jan. 6 in his Beverly Hills home, according to People Magazine. He was 27.

Silvio Horta, creator of ABC comedy series “Ugly Betty,” was found dead in a Miami motel room Jan. 7. He was 45.

Neil Peart

The drummer and lyricist for the ’70s and ’80s Canadian progressive rock band Rush died on Jan. 7, according to the band’s Twitter account. He was 67.

Harry Hains

Harry Hains, an actor and producer who had appeared on “American Horror Story: Hotel,” “The OA,” “Sneaky Pete” and “The Surface,” died on Jan. 7. He was 27.

Buck Henry

The actor-screenwriter-director who co-created “Get Smart,” co-wrote “The Graduate” and co-directed the hit 1978 Warren Beatty film “Heaven Can Wait” died on Jan. 8 in Los Angeles. He was 89.

Edd Byrnes

The actor, who played Vince Fontaine in “Grease” and also starred on the series “77 Sunset Strip” as the teen idol “Kookie,” died on Jan. 8. He was 87.

Ivan Passer

Ivan Passer, a pioneering filmmaker in the Czech New Wave, a frequent collaborator with the late Milos Forman and the director of the 1981 film “Cutter’s Way,” died on Jan. 9. He was 86.

Stan Kirch

Stan Kirsch, one of the stars of the syndicated '90s fantasy drama “Highlander: The Series,” died on Jan. 11. He was 51.

Rocky Johnson

Rocky Johnson, a member of the WWE Hall of Fame and the father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, died on Jan. 15 at the age of 75.

Terry Jones

Terry Jones, a beloved member of the Monty Python comedy troupe who directed many of its classic films, died Jan. 21. He was 77.

Tyler Gwozdz

Former “Bachelorette” contestant Tyler Gwozdz, who appeared on the 2019 season of the reality series, died Jan. 22 of a suspected drug overdose at age 29.

Kobe Bryant

Retired NBA star Kobe Bryant was killed Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., on that killed four others. He was 41

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas, the prolific actor and producer whose “Spartacus” is credited with helping to end the Hollywood blacklist, patriarch of a successful entertainment dynasty and one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s golden age, died Feb. 5 at age 103.

F.X. Feeney

F.X. Feeney, a longtime film critic for LA Weekly, a film historian and a screenwriter, died on Feb. 5 after suffering several strokes over the previous few days. He was 66.

Kevin Conway

Kevin Conway, known for his roles in films like “Gettysburg” and ‘Thirteen Days,” died on Feb. 5 of a heart attack. He was 77.

Orson Bean

Veteran character actor Orson Bean, a regular on shows like “To Tell the Truth” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and star of “Being John Malkovich,” died the night of Feb. 7 at age 91 after he was struck and killed by a car in Los Angeles.

Robert Conrad

Robert Conrad, who was the star of the 1960s TV series “Wild Wild West,” died from heart failure on Feb. 8 at the age of 84.

Raphael Coleman

Raphael Coleman, who starred as Eric in the 2005 Emma Thompson movie “Nanny McPhee" and went on to devote himself to environmental activism, died suddenly on Feb. 7 at the age of 25.

Paula Kelly

Paula Kelly, an Emmy-nominated actress known for TV series like “Night Court” and films like “Sweet Charity” and “The Andromeda Strain,” died on Feb. 8 in Whittier, California. She was 77.

Joseph Vilsmaier

Joseph Vilsmaier, a German director and cinematographer behind the acclaimed 1993 World War II drama “Stalingrad" died “peacefully” at his home in Bavaria. He was 81.

Caroline Flack

Caroline Flack, former host of “Love Island,” died at the age of 40 on Feb. 15. A lawyer for the family told BBC that Flack died by suicide.

Daniel Lee Martin

Daniel Lee Martin, country singer and host of “Brotherhood Outdoors,” was found dead in his Pasco County, Florida, home on Feb. 14 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 54.

Nikita Pearl Waligwa

Nikita Pearl Waligwa, the young actress seen in the 2016 Disney film “Queen of Katwe,” died on Feb. 15, according to the Ugandan newspaper The Daily Monitor. Waligwa, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016, was 15.

Jason Davis

Jason Davis, best known as the voice of Mikey Blumberg on Disney Channel’s “Recess,” died on Feb. 16. He was 35.

Ja’net Dubois

Ja’net Dubois, starred on the CBS sitcom “Good Times” and wrote and performed the theme song to "The Jeffersons," passed away on Feb. 18. She was 74.

Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson, a pioneering mathematician and NASA employee who was pivotal in helping in America’s space race and was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the film “Hidden Figures,” died on Feb. 24. She was 101.

James Lipton

"Inside the Actors Studio" host James Lipton passed away on March 2 after a battle with bladder cancer. He was 93.

Lorenzo Brino, a former child star in the family drama “7th Heaven,” died in a car accident on March 9, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.

Beatrice

Beatrice, who played the beloved French bulldog Stella on the last seven seasons of “Modern Family,” died March 9 shortly after the cast shot the series finale.

Stuart Whitman

Stuart Whitman, a star of Westerns alongside John Wayne like “The Comancheros” and the war movie “The Longest Day,” died in his home March 16, his son told TMZ. Whitman was 92.

Lyle Waggoner

Lyle Waggoner, an actor known for starring on “The Carol Burnett Show” and the '70s “Wonder Woman” TV series, died March 17 at age 84.

Maggie Griffin

Maggie Griffin, Kathy Griffin’s mother and co-star of her Bravo reality series “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List,” died March 17 at age 99.

Kenny Rogers

Country music legend Kenny Rogers passed away on March 20 at the age of 81. According to a statement, he died of natural causes.

Terrence McNally

Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally died on March 24 of complications from the coronavirus. He was 81.

Getty

Adam Schlesinger

Adam Schlesinger, the lead singer-songwriter from the rock band Fountains of Wayne and a music producer and composer on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” died on April 1 due to complications from the coronavirus.

Getty

Ellis Marsalis Jr.

Ellis Marsalis Jr., New Orleans jazz legend and father of Wynton and Branford Marsalis, died from COVID-19 complications April 1. "Ellis Marsalis was a legend. He was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz... He was a teacher, a father, and an icon — and words aren’t sufficient to describe the art, the joy and the wonder he showed the world," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said. He was 85.

Getty

Eddie Large

Eddie Large, one-half of the comedy duo Little and Large, died April 2 after contracting coronavirus while hospitalized for heart failure. He was 78.

Getty

Ed Farmer

Ed Farmer, MLB player turned White Sox radio announcer, died April 1. He was 70.

Getty

Jeff Grosso

Jeff Grosso, the legendary skateboarder who hosted Vans’ “Loveletters to Skating” video series, died March 31 in Costa Mesa, Calif. He was 51.

Bill Withers

Bill Withers, the 1970s singer of classics like “Lean On Me” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” died on March 30 at the age of 81.

Getty

Patricia Bosworth

Patricia Bosworth, a stage and screen actress turned journalist who penned celebrity biographies, died April 2 from complications of the coronavirus. She was 86.

Getty

Honor Blackman

Honor Blackman, the British actress best known for her roles in “The Avengers” series and “Goldfinger” film of the 1960s, died at the age of 94, her family announced on April 6.